Building unit of spaced concrete walls



Aug. 23, 1955 G. K. E. KLEEBERG 2,715,829

BUILDING UNIT OF SPACED CONCRETE WALLS Filed Sept. 23, 1948 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. GU/VTHER A. E. KLEfE/q E BY,

ATTORNEYS ug- 23, 1955 G. K. E. KLEEBERG BUILDING UNIT OF' SPACEDCONCRETE WALLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1948 INVENTOR. GUN THERKE /QEEBERG BY A from/EPS United States Patent O BUILDING UNIT OF SPACEDCONCRETE WALLS Gunther K. E. Kleeberg, Belfast, Maine ApplicationSeptember 23, 1948, Serial No. 50,840

1 Claim. (Cl. 72-44) My present invention relates to building units andparticularly to concrete forms which enable the load carrying wall to bepoured, constitute the inner and outer surfaces of that wall, andprovide means for suitably reinforcing it.

In accordance with my invention, l provide such a building unitconsisting of a pair of Walls with each wall having a plurality ofmembers embedded therein and protruding from the face of that wall thatis disposed towards the other wall of that um't. Those members aredisposed in predetermined relation to the members of the other wall whenthe walls are positioned for assembly and I provide means tointerconnect corresponding members of the walls to assemble the unitwith its walls spaced apart a predetermined distance.

The members are preferably U-shaped and are disposed in the walls sothat they constitute reinforcement for them as Well as for the loadsupporting concrete slab contained between them in the finished wall, ofwhich the building units become a permanent part.

Preferably, I provide the outer surface of at least one wall of eachbuilding unit in accordance with my invention with recesses which definewith a vertically alignedlike recess of another unit a double taperedchannel to receive a wedge that serves both as means for positivelyaligning the units and as means enabling laths, for example, to benailed in place.

In the illustrative embodiments of my invention shown in the drawings,these and other of its novel features and advantages will be readilyapparent.

In the drawings:

Fig. l shows, in elevation, units in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section, on an enlarged scale, along the lines 2 2 of Fig.l.

Fig. 3 is a partly sectioned plan view of one of my units.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one type of connector.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a connector of another type.

Fig. 6 is a view, in perspective, of one of the walls of the unit.

Fig. 7 is a view, in perspective, showing a form element attached to themembers.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section, though a form made from units establishedby uniting walls such as that shown in Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is a View, in perspective, of another embodiment of my inventionin which the units are connected by aligning and nail-receiving wedges.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, I providebuilding units consisting of a pair of concrete walls 10. Each wall hasa plurality of generally indicated members 11 embedded therein andprotruding from the face thereof that is to be disposed towards theother wall of that unit. The members 11 are located so that when thewalls 10 are positioned for assembly, corresponding members 11 may beinterconnected by links,

2,715,829 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 ICC generally indicated at 12 in Figs.2, 3, 4, 8, and 9, and at 12a in Fig. 5, which are dirnensioned so thatin the assembled unit, the walls 10 are spaced the desired distanceapart.

In practice, the inner face of each Wall 10 has a plurality of ridges 13extending, preferably, from top to bottom thereof and spaced from eachother and the ends of the wall to establish channels 14 or partsthereof. The thus formed inner surface of each wall is of advantagewhether the walls 10 are to establish the retaining form of Figs. 1-3 inwhich case they become anchored by the poured concrete 15 or are to backform elements 16 for the poured concrete 17 to provide the completedwall with dead air spaces or passages for Wiring or piping as suggestedin Figs. 7 and 8.

The members 11 are established by the ends of U- shaped metalreinforcements 18 and 19 which are incorporated in the walls 10 withtheir ends preferably terminating in hooks 20 with the hooks of thereinforcement 18 being disposed towards the hooks of the reinforcements19. While the reinforcements 18 and 19 may be similar, I prefer that thereinforcements 19 have their intermediate portions 21 of lesser lengthand U-shaped with their extremities 22 offset so that each of them isexposed between an adjacent pair of ribs 13 and is disposed slightlybeyond the edge of its Wall that is adjacent thereto. Thus each unit hasretaining and locating means to enter between the Walls of a unit inengagement therewith which avoid the weaknesses inherent in conventionaltongue and groove interlocks. In practice, the reinforcements 18 and 19are dimensioned and located so that their ends, which establish themembers 11, protrude through the ridges 13 and, preferably, each member11 is located in a different ridge.

While the members 11 may be interconnected in various ways, theconnector links detailed in Figs. 4 and 5 have proved to be satisfactoryin use,

The connector link 12 shown in Fig. 4 consists of a metal strip 23having a flange 24 and tabs 25 providing member engaging ends 26 thatare L-shaped in cross section. The tabs 25 are disposed to encircle thehooks 20 with their ends 27 anchored, as by welding, to the strip 23.

The connector link 12 shown in Fig. 5 is of particular advantage wherethe units are to be assembled on the job by the contractor. The link 12of Fig. 5 consists of a strip 28 of metal channel having a hookreceiving aperture 29 spaced from each of its ends so that it is onlynecessary, in completing a unit, to put the connectors in place and thencrimp their extremities 30 into locking engagement with the members 11.

As the width of one of my units is dependent on the length of the links12, I am able to satisfy a wide range of demands with a single size ofwall 10 and these are adapted to eicient production with accuratedimensions and suitably smooth outer surfaces and edges being readilymaintained.

With such units, a suitable form may be quickly and accuratelyestablished to enable the concrete to be poured. The resulting slab 15supports the load, but the units become an integral part thereof andtheir interconnected members 11 lend themselves to its reinforcement.

As suggested in Figs. 7 and 8, I may employ the members 11 to supportthe form elements 16 which are preferably of wallboard or like stockhaving heat insulating properties. While the form elements 16 may bemade to be inserted after the units have been assembled, I have shownthem as having slots 31 dimensioned and located to receive the members11 of the reinforcement 19 and one of the members 11 of thereinforcement 18 with one end of the form element 16 disposed on one ofthe ridges 13 and with its other end protruding to be disposed on thecorresponding ridge 13 of another unit. In practice, I prefer that theform elements 16 be dimensioned so that one of the edges of each of themprotrudes beyond one edge of the wall 10 by which it is supported tooverlap a marginal portion of another form element as suggested in Figs.7 and 8. When the completed units are assembled to establish a form, theelements 16 are seated against the ridges 13 with adjacent ends abuttingthereon and with one edge overlapping that of another unit. When theconcrete wall 17 is poured, the channels 14 are available as dead airspaces or to provide passages for pipes or wires.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 9, I have shown oneexposed face of the units as having a pair of double tapered recesses 33extending from one edge of each unit to the opposite edge thereof. Oneextremity 34 of each recess is dimensioned as a continuation of theother extremity 35 thereof so that when the units are assembled, a Wedge36 may be driven into place to interconnect adjacent units and to alignthem accurately. As the wedges 36 are preferably wooden, they alsoconstitute means to enable laths, for example, to be securely nailed tothe completed wall.

While my units are particularly adapted for use in erecting forms inwhich case they are united by the mortar, they may be used as blocksand, if desired or necessary, strips of saturated felt, paper or thelike may be placed between abutting edges of adjacent units.

It will thus be apparent that units in accordance with my invention areadapted both to efficient and economical production and to meet a widerange of requirements Y in the construction of concrete walls.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A building unit comprising a pair of concrete walls whose proximatefaces have vertically disposed ribs and channels, members anchored ineach of said walls with their ends protruding through the ribs in theface thereof that is to be disposed towards the other wall and locatedso that corresponding ends are in predetermined relation to each otherwhen the walls are positioned for assembly, means interconnectingcorresponding ends to establish said unit, at least one of said membersof each wall being U-shaped and having a substantial part of itsintermediate portion anchored therein, said intermediate portion beingU-shaped and approximately the width of a wall channel and having itsextremity oifset to protrude from said face in a channel and extendingslightly above the adjacent wall edge thereby to provide said unit withpositioning and locating means engageable with the inner surface of aunit in engagement therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS250,572 Petri Dec. 6, 1881 799,784 Fisher Sept. 19, 1905 838,844 ClaytonDec. 18, 1906 903,734 VLarsen Nov. 10, 1908 932,261 Flynn Aug. 24, 1909962,463 Phillips June 28, 1910 1,196,062 Wolcott Aug. 29, 1916 1,295,919Muhlhausen Mar. 4, 1919 1,759,070 Tengstedt May 20, '1930 1,833,875Lockwood Nov. 24, 1931 1,911,626 Larzelere May 30, 1933 1,949,079 LoeierFeb. 27, 1934 2,248,348 Hall July 8, 1941 2,268,044 Liebowitz Dec. 30,1941 2,315,418 Haaker Mar. 30, 1943 2,539,219 Abdelnour Jan. 23, 1951FOREIGN PATENTS 415,941 France of 1910 6,027 Great Britain of'191223,296 Norway of 1913 688,972

France of 1930

